


Fondly

by westernsunset



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 10:16:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13028937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westernsunset/pseuds/westernsunset
Summary: "I'm asking the questions now. You tell me about your first time. How do you remember it?""Fondly.""I'm not asking you."--in which Elliot learns that sometimes there's more than one first time. takes place after the events of the episode "Execution" from Season 3





	Fondly

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is literally 15 years late but i have lots of feelings about Dr. Huang

Stabler felt guilty for letting the doc get hurt. He should have been quicker, should have reached the killer before he got a chance to grab Huang by the throat and slam him into a brick wall, should’ve…

But that’s how he found himself, early in the morning, in a hospital waiting room in South Jersey. Huang had been kept overnight for monitoring, but Stabler was guessing he wouldn’t want to drive all the way back to New York. Stabler had driven down to pick him up.

The longer he sat there, the more he wondered if this was a terrible idea. He didn’t know Huang that well, and the ride was going to be over an hour, depending on where Huang lived in Manhattan. Where did Huang live? How did Elliot not know that? How did Elliot know nothing about the man he had just interviewed a serial killer with?

Lost in thought, he almost missed Huang leaving the hospital and coming through the lobby. He caught him just as Huang was about to make a call. 

“Doc! Hey, I’m uh,” Elliot stammered, “here to take you home.”

Huang looked a little taken aback, but smiled nonetheless. “You didn’t have to do that Elliot. But I certainly appreciate it. I was just going to call…well, I’ll just make sure no one comes down here unnecessarily.”

The two men stood awkwardly looking at each other. Finally, Huang said “if you want, you can pull the car around while I make a quick call.”

“Oh yeah, of course,” said Elliot, shuffling away as Huang dialed. When he drove up to the front of the hospital, Huang was waiting for him.

“How you feeling?” Elliot asked.

“A bit of a headache, but I’ll be fine,” said Huang. “The concussion doesn’t seem to have any lingering effects, I was very lucky.”

“Yeah about that,” Elliot stammered, “I’m uh, sorry I let that happen, I should have…”

“There’s nothing you could have done,” Huang said quietly and kindly. “I almost didn’t notice his behavior myself. If I had been paying more attention to his mannerisms and less to his story, we probably could have avoided it. But all we can do is learn from the past, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” said Elliot.

The car was silent for awhile. Elliot thought about turning on the radio, putting on a baseball game, or maybe music. He had no idea what kind of music Huang liked. He didn’t necessarily peg him for a baseball fan either. Huang was looking out the window, and seemed content to not say much. But the silence was getting under Elliot’s skin.

“Do you uh, want to listen to some music or something?” Elliot asked, once the silence finally became unbearable.

“Hm?” muttered Huang, almost like he hadn’t heard. “Oh, um, yes if you’d like.”

“What were you thinking about?” blurted Elliot, before he could stop himself.

“I’m going over the interview. I didn’t have a chance to write anything down, and I want to keep what he said fresh in my mind. I’m worried I’ll forget things, or lack objectivity due to the concussion.”

“Concussions can cloud your objectivity?” Stabler asked.

“No, but having a man slam you into a brick wall can,” said Huang with a smile.

Stabler chuckled. “I got what I wanted out of it, but it was an odd interview. He seemed fixated on me, no offense Doc.”

Huang laughed. “Not having the attentions of a serial killer? I’ll take that as a compliment. But yes, I wasn’t surprised he latched onto you.”

“Why not?”

“He clearly distrusted psychiatrists, he’s probably had hundreds examine him. He knew my tricks, and it’s possible he wanted approval from the person he saw as the ‘real man.’ I never did find out about his formative experiences…” Huang trailed off, lost in thought again.

Stabler, not content to sit in silence all the way back to New York prodded Huang again. “Formative experiences? How do you mean?”

“You noticed how he seemed fixated on your first time? I never did probe deeper into his early sexual experiences. It may have given me some insight.”

“Ah,” said Elliot, thinking back over the answer he had given when the killer asked him about his first time having sex. In retrospect, it was odd that Huang now knew about Elliot’s awkward escapades. Especially given Huang’s typical non-answer when he had been asked.

“Doc,” Elliot asked, “you don’t really remember your first time fondly, do you? I mean, no one has a good first time, is that just a therapist trick you do to turn attention back to the perp?”

Huang turned his thoughtful gaze to Elliot. “Well, it depends on which first time you’re asking about.”

Elliot chucked. “You only get one first time.”

“Not necessarily,” said Huang. “My first time with a woman was, well, uncoordinated is probably the most charitable way to put it. I don’t think she enjoyed herself, I certainly didn’t.” Here, Huang paused, considering his next words carefully. “My first time with, uh, a man was. An improvement. So I suppose I do remember it more fondly, yes.”

Stabler was taken aback. He had no idea Huang was gay. Was he gay? Was that what Huang was telling him?

“Oh! Well that’s. Um…that’s” Stabler stammered.

“That’s not something I necessarily want to tell a serial killer I’m trapped in a room with,” said Huang with a small laugh. “Best to keep it vague. But I don’t mind friends knowing.”

“Friends?” asked Elliot. He had never really thought of Huang as a friend. A colleague, sure. But one he clashed with, one who kept him from doing what he wanted to do on the job sometimes. Though Huang was easy to talk to, sometimes frustratingly easy. And he had never given Stabler too hard a time when he broke the rules.

“You did come pick me up from the hospital,” said Huang. “Sometimes friends do that for each other.”

“I guess so,” said Elliot with a smile. “You know, I have a notepad and some paper in the backseat, you can write some things down if you want to go over the interview together.”

“That would be great,” said Huang as he turned to rummage around.

Elliot smiled to himself. A gay friend. There was a first time for everything.


End file.
